The best of both worlds with DET, MBA

Danielle Korporal came to Trine University with enough credits to graduate in three years.

“However, since that wasn’t really a goal of mine, I looked at it as an opportunity to pursue a minor or take additional classes to get more out of my four years at Trine,” she said. “When I discussed the minors I could work toward with my advisor, he suggested I get my MBA.”

Danielle coupled her MBA with her design engineering technology bachelor’s degree, completing both in four years at Trine.

She said she chose DET because of the wide view it provides of the engineering and design process. Her advisor recommended the MBA because of her strong interest in the business aspect of design engineering.

Design, business knowledge

She earned outstanding DET student honors for Trine’s Class of 2022 and began working on the electrical engineering team at the Nashville, Tennessee, office of Kimley-Horn, one of the nation’s premier planning and design consultants. She provides design support to create electric vehicle charging layouts for sites across the United States.

She said the high-level view provided by Trine’s DET program has given her the ability to develop different solutions to design issues.

“When I’m placing EV chargers on a site or trying to find a unique solution to a design conflict, I can easily find different ways to approach the situation,” she said. “I think that’s because throughout various courses at Trine, I got to see all the facets of design and how they connect rather than focusing on only one.”

She said her MBA preparation has been very beneficial as well.

“Kimley-Horn is, before anything else, a consulting firm, and while it is imperative that we have technical degrees in order to do what we do, without the knowledge of business, we wouldn’t be so successful,” she said. “While my technical degree gave me the knowledge to do my day-to-day work, I would say my MBA has given me the tools to really excel in my career.”

She hopes to eventually move into a project management role and to specialize in program design and management.

“The major requirement for my career goal is technical experience, which I can gain thanks to my DET degree,” she said. “Having my MBA as well means that while I’m working toward these goals, I already have the business mindset to help me get there faster.”